Bound by Love
by Ricky Raccoon 7
Summary: Shoji always throws himself in harms way for his friends, and he doesn't care if it costs him his life. Nobody knew why he did it, and no one bothered to ask. But when an accident occurs and leaves Shoji in the hospital, Asui and Izuku end up learning the motivation of their youngest student and a deep secret.


**Hey guys! I noticed how nobody thanks Shoji for protecting them in the series, so I wanted to make a fanfic so Shoji can get the love he deserves. I was going to make this with multiple chapters, but I figured that would make it more complicated. Anyways, enjoy! Please review.**

Working in teams was always hard. It wasn't always the person you were working with, but a struggle was communicating quickly during tough situations. Shoji was decent at communication, but his quick thinking usually resulted in him protecting a classmate in any way he can. After being with his class for so long, they seemed like family to him, and he'll give his life for his family.

The morning started off normally. When he went downstairs, Tokoyami and Sato were awake. Sato gave Shoji a bold hello while Tokoyami muttered his greeting. Dark Shadow began singing _Linkin Park_ for the third time that week, which made Tokoyami scream internally.

"I've become so numb! I can't feel you there!" Dark Shadow screeched, "Become so tired! So much more aware!"

"Stop singing, Shadow!" Tokoyami commanded, "First it was _In the End_, then it was _Crawling_, now it's _Numb_! Who the heck is giving you access to the internet!?"

"Yeah, shut up, Demon!" Bakugo yelled.

"It's free real estate," Dark Shadow whispered as he stole Bakugo's waffles.

"Die!" Bakugo yelled again as he started chasing Dark Shadow around the kitchen.

Yeah, it was a beautiful normal morning.

Class 1-A was doing a team exercise today, and they were placed into groups at random. Everyone seemed excited considering that the winning teams will be excused from the upcoming essay assignment.

"Okay students, the groups will now be announced, "Mr. Aizawa stated as he took out a small clipboard, "When I call your names, please go with your group."

Shoji looked at Koda, who was a little nervous. He was very shy and hardly spoke to anyone, so to be placed with people he didn't know too well kind of scared him.

"Ashido, Iida, Ojiro, Hagakure, and Uraraka."

The group got together pretty quickly. Hagakure gave Ojiro a hug, which made his face turn red. Iida also noticed Ojiro's tail wagging while Hagakure was hugging him.

He had to remember that.

"Sato, Kaminari, Aoyama, Yaoyorozu, and Sero."

Sero and Kaminari began to do a little handshake while Sato and Aoyoma did a smaller one with Yaoyorozu. She never talked to them much, but she felt pretty comfortable around them.

She struggled a little at first, but both boys managed to teach her the handshake after three times.

"Kirishima, Bakugo, Todoroki, Jiro, and Koda."

Koda's face had become deathly pale. Todoroki and Bakugo terrified him to the point where he can't talk to them face to face. His hands began to shake, and his heart seemed to beat throughout his entire body. The whole situation became worse when Todoroki looked at Koda with his usual emotionless stare.

Koda stumbled backwards before someone grasped his shoulder. They squeezed it, and Koda regained his balance. It was Jiro.

"Take a deep breath, Koda," Jiro whispered as he calmed himself, "They won't hurt you, we're all on the same team, okay?"

Koda nodded. He loved Jiro, but he knew that Kamanari deserved her.

"Midoryia, Tokoyami, Asui, Mineta, and Shoji."

Shoji looked at his group and smiled a little bit. He was glad that he was on Mineta's team. He wanted to keep him in check.

He gave a fist-bump to Tokoyami, who actually smiled at the gesture. Izuku and Asui had already struck up a conversation, and Shoji was now left to protect Asui from Mineta's perverted interests.

Dark Shadow had now began singing stuff from _High School Musical_.

"We're all in this together!" He screeched as Tokoyami hid his face into his hands.

"Okay, now that you guys are grouped together, I'll tell you which group you'll be up against," Mr. Aizawa explained, "Sato's team will be up against Ashido's, and Kirishima's team will be against Midoryia's."

Bakugo smiled wickedly at the thought of destroying Deku. Koda held a peace sign up to Shoji, which is his way of saying that they were still friends despite anything that happened. Todoroki looked at Izuku, who smiled back at him.

"The goal is simple. Pin down at least three opponents from the opposite team, and your team wins," Mr. Aizawa explained as Shoji nodded automatically.

"I would like Midoryia's team and Kirishima's team to go first. Good luck," Mr. Aizawa said as he rolled away in his yellow sleeping bag.

"I'm gonna kill you, Deku!" Bakugo yelled before getting dragged by Kirishima to the other side of the forest.

Izuku scurried away to his side where his teammates were waiting.

"You guys ready?!" Kirishima asked as he hardened himself.

"Bring it on!" Izuku said with a smile.

The two teams then ran towards each other, not knowing of the harsh consequences.

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Mineta began to charge at Jiro, who gasped in disgust at the sight of the tiny grape. Koda saw Jiro's dismay and called some birds to distract Mineta.

"Aw, come on!" Mineta cried as he threw his balls at the birds.

Tokoyami took Mineta's spot as Jiro's attacker. Dark Shadow swooped behind her, but she noticed him and dodged his claws.

"So close!" Dark Shadow muttered before trying again.

Bakugo immediately went for Izuku by using his explosions. Izuku dodged a punch to the head and managed to counter it using a kick. The two were head-to-head in a matter of seconds, throwing heavy punches back and forth.

Asui struggled with Kirishima. The best thing she could do was throw him around and hope that one of Mineta's stray balls caught him. However, she feared the consequence of using her tongue. Kirishima's quirk could do heavy damage to her tongue if she was too reckless.

Shoji decided to go for Todoroki, considering that he took mental note of Todoroki's fighting style. He also did it for Asui's sake. He worked with her before during the Provisional License Exam, and the consequences could be deadly if Asui got trapped in Todoroki's ice for too long.

Shoji dodged a wave of ice spikes before running towards his opponent. He kept one of his arms morphed into an eye in order to watch Todoroki at all times.

The fight was harsh, Bakugo and Izuku also ended up doing damage to the forest as much as themselves. Shoji felt some blood running down his face from one of Todoroki's ice blasts.

"I can probably get to him if I keep dodging," Shoji thought.

The next dodge was a big mistake.

The ice blast went right past Shoji, but the stray ice hit one of his teammates. The ice covered them completely, to the point where a gloved hand stuck out of the ice.

"Asui!" Shoji panicked as he ran over to her.

The ice had immediately taken over her body temperature, and Asui was falling asleep within the ice.

"Stay awake, Asui," Shoji whispered as he clutched her hand.

"Todoroki!" Shoji yelled, "Asui can't survive in the ice too long! Her body can't handle it!"

Todoroki ran over to the ice spike and began to thaw it. Shoji watched nervously from behind, fearing the worst. The ice slowly thawed away, leaving a sleeping Asui sitting in ice. Todoroki put his hand on her arm, hoping he could warm her with his fire.

"Is she okay?" Shoji asked.

"I think she'll be okay, but it might take her longer to recover than last time," Todoroki explained, "Yaoyorozu told me about what happened, so I was trying to be careful not to hit her. I guess the chances of me hitting her were too good to be true."

Shoji looked at his froggy classmate in fear. He wrapped the spare arms he had around Asui like he did with Midoryia during Summer Camp. His single visible eye locked on Todoroki with an icy glare.

"Looks like Todoroki took out Asui!" Iida yelled, "It's now five against four!"

Shoji turned for a second to only come in contact with Kirishima's rock-hard fist. Shoji jumped back and felt his loose jaw. His eyes narrowed as he dodged another one of Kirishima's punches. Shoji managed to shove Kirishima backwards and make him fall on some of Mineta's sticky balls.

"Nice one, Octopus!" Mineta said with a wink as he dodged a bird.

"Looks like the fight is even again!" Iida said.

Shoji and Todoroki looked at each other. Todoroki looked slightly concerned.

"Are you sure the fight can still go on?" Todoroki asked as Shoji cracked his knuckles.

"I'll try to avoid combat as much as I can, for Asui's sake," Shoji replied as he watched Koda get stuck to a tree by Mineta, along with a ball to the face

"I'm killing it Shoji!" Mineta said as Todoroki started to run towards him.

Jiro was flung back by Dark Shadow, but he seemed a little vulnerable to Jiro's amplifier. A grin worked its way onto Dark Shadow's face before taking another swing at Jiro. She stumbled onto Mineta's balls and tried to plug her ear-jacks in but was stopped by balls thrown by Mineta.

Kirishima and Jiro were now all caught in Mineta's ball barrage.

Koda decided to shift his attention over to Tokoyami, who also gave him a peace sign out of respect.

Shoji was so close to get out of the ring. He can just set Asui down and everything will-

**_BOOM_**

Three trees and a few rocks were uprooted by Bakugo's explosions. One hit Izuku and thrown him back. Another tree was blown at him, but Shoji intervened.

He was carrying Asui, but he just took a blow for Izuku too. His vision was red from the blood covering his face. He ran his hand across his head. He felt a crack.

"Shoji!" Izuku panicked as Shoji handed Asui to Izuku.

"I'm fine."

"You have a crack in your head!"

"Don't worry."

Shoji felt another object hit his head, followed by what seemed like a pile of uprooted trees. Izuku had Asui shoved into him as Shoji pushed them both out of the way. The trees hurdled at Shoji, burying him under the mass of bark. Mr. Aizawa stopped the fight immediately while Mineta ran to help his friend.

"Don't die, man!" Mineta panicked as he continued to dig up his friend.

Asui began to stir in Izuku's arms. She lifted her head a little to see a determined Mineta, followed by Tokoyami, trying to push the trees away.

Dark Shadow held up the beams while Sato, who just joined in, dragged Shoji out of the pile. At this point, he looked like a heap of blood and flesh. He was surprisingly awake, but just overwhelmed.

"Can you hear me?" Mr. Aizawa asked a he kneeled down and Sato propped Shoji up against a destroyed tree.

"Yes," Shoji answered.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Mr. Aizawa asked.

"Four," Shoji replied with a sigh.

"His senses obviously weren't damaged," Mineta said with a smile.

Shoji's blood poured into every crack it could find in the ground. The crack in his head was worse, and even revealed a little bone.

"I'll escort you to Recovery Girl, Shoji," Mr. Aizawa said as Shoji pushed himself up, "Iida, you're in charge while I'm gone."

"Yes, Aizawa-sensei!" Iida said as he yelled at Bakugo for his recklessness.

Shoji limped over to his teacher as the other students watched solemnly.

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He was back within the next two days. He was confined to bedrest during that time, so no one was able to visit him.

He hated feeling so alone.

His friends crowded around him when he walked into the classroom. Dark Shadow hugged him gently while Sato and Aoyoma asked him questions. Koda gave Shoji a small get well soon card they all signed, much to Shoji's surprise. Mineta joined the group and told Shoji how much the class missed him, even though the 'class' Mineta referred to were his friends.

Bakugo walked up to Shoji and gave him a stuffed octopus as a gift. Technically Mr. Aizawa and Kirishima forced him, but it was still special.

Shoji caught Izuku and Asui giving him small glances, but they looked tongue-tied. He decided to shrug it off. Shoji sat at his desk and cradled his head into one of his arms.

"Are you okay, Shoji?" Ojiro asked.

"I'm okay," Shoji replied with a gruff.

He wasn't sure if it was a lie. He struggled sleeping after the injury, and the headaches were getting stronger. The pounding in his head felt as if it was spreading into his entire body. The room seemed to be spinning, and he was lightheaded.

"Are…Asui and Midoryia okay?"

"Yeah," Ojiro replied out of surprise, "Asui recovered pretty well. She woke up after Mr. Aizawa took you to Recovery Girl. Midoryia was pretty much unscathed, but he was really nervous for you and Asui."

The class felt like it dragged on forever. Mr. Aizawa's voice seemed to blend in with the sound of the air vent and the side conversations. Shoji knew people were looking at him, but he didn't bother looking up.

"Shoji?" Mr. Aizawa muttered, "Are you listening?"

"Yes, Mr. Aizawa," Shoji answered bluntly.

"Do you need to visit Recovery Girl again?" Mr. Aizawa asked.

"I'm okay," Shoji replied.

The class went on, and Shoji felt horrible. He was happy that Spring-Break was finally here. He dashed out the door when the bell rang, hoping to get home as soon as he can.

The bus ride was okay. He was shocked to see Mina and Sero board the same bus. They sat in the seat in front of him, but Shoji didn't mind.

When he got off at his stop, his head felt like it was going to rip itself apart. He grabbed a street pole as he grabbed his head in agony. He dropped the stuffed octopus. Mina and Sero saw everything unfold and ran to his aid.

"Shoji!" A voice cried as they grabbed onto his arm.

Shoji saw that the person was Sero, who was followed by Mina.

"What's wrong?!" Mina panicked.

"I…don't…" Shoji gasped as he dropped to his knees.

He fell unconscious and hit the ground with a thud. Mina cradled Shoji's bloody head in her lap as Sero scrambled to call 911.

"Please, Shoji," Mina whispered, "Just hold on…"

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Izuku was at home with his mom helping with dinner. The entire house filled itself with the smell of Katsudon.

A knock was suddenly heard on the front door. Izuku went to open it.

"Tokoyami?" Izuku said as Dark Shadow waved, "What are you doing here?"

"Mineta told me your location," Tokoyami answered, "But I'm here to discuss an incident with you, and a favor to ask."

Izuku tensed up slightly. Despite knowing each other pretty well, Tokoyami still sent shivers down his spine, almost the same way Mr. Aizawa and Todoroki did.

Izuku gestured Tokoyami inside as Dark Shadow chirped. Tokoyami walked inside, nodding to Izuku as he did so.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Midoryia," Tokoyami said as he bowed, "I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but this matter is of high importance."

"You don't have to be so formal about it," Inko said with a smile, "I'm always happy to meet some of Izuku's friends! Would you like something to drink?"

"Thank you for the offer, but I won't be long."

Tokoyami turned to Izuku with a serious look. Despite the seriousness, Izuku noticed how sad Tokoyami looked, maybe even scared.

"Do you remember when Shoji was badly injured during the training last week?" Tokoyami asked.

"Yeah," Izuku replied nervously.

"I was told by Mineta that Shoji was confined to Musutafu Hospital."

Izuku and his mother gasped in shock.

"When was he admitted?" Izuku asked.

"He was admitted on the first day of break," Tokoyami answered, "However, not many people know about it. So far, it's only his parents, Sero, Ashido, Sato, Mineta, Aoyoma, Koda, Ojiro, Hagakure, and me."

Izuku felt super guilty. He felt like he was the cause of all of this. If he was faster, Shoji wouldn't have been in the hospital.

"What about his condition?" Izuku asked.

"I'm not exactly sure of his exact condition, but I do know that it was a terrible head injury that could possibly be a mix of a concussion."

Izuku looked like he was about to cry.

"You also asked…for a favor…" Izuku said, "What were you talking about?"

"A few of our classmates visited him, but nobody has a spare moment today."

Izuku wiped a tear away.

"I need you to talk to Shoji," Tokoyami said, "I feel like it would do both of you good."

"W-What about you?"

"My grandparents flew from Brazil today, and I can't miss out on that."

Izuku suddenly looked more nervous than sad. A small ding went off on Tokoyami's phone, and he turned to leave.

"Thank you both for your hospitality," Tokoyami said as he bowed again, "Have a great rest of your day."

He was gone.

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It took all the courage in Izuku's body for him to go to the hospital. He and his mom made a small plate of chocolate chip cookies for Shoji, hoping it would cheer him up.

It was raining softly. It was almost like the sky was crying for Shoji. Izuku watched each drop hit the car window as questions ran through his head. What was he going to say to Shoji? How would Shoji react to him being there?

Izuku walked inside in the hospital, only to be told to sit in the waiting room. He walked in and saw Asui in the waiting room.

"Tsu? What are you doing here?" Izuku asked as he sat in the chair next to her.

"I was here to visit Shoji," Asui answered, "Did you hear about what happened?"

"Yeah, Tokoyami told me."

"Mina called me and explained the whole story."

Izuku lowered his eyes, but Asui continued to look at him.

"It's not your fault, you know," Asui said, "It was a combination of everything. Todoroki's ice, me succumbing to the cold, and Bakugo's explosions were all combined factors of this."

"It's not your fault either," Izuku replied.

"I blame Bakugo the most," Asui added.

Izuku chuckled a little before the nurse called the two over. The time has come.

"I'm sorry for the wait," The nurse said, "We were changing the bandages for him when you came."

The nurse opened the door where Shoji was lying in a hospital bed. IVs were placed up his arms, and he almost looked like a fresh corpse. The heart monitor was beating slowly, and Shoji was facing away from his classmates.

"I'll leave you guys alone," The nurse said as she closed the door.

Izuku and Asui stared at Shoji at a loss for words. Asui spoke first.

"Good morning, Shoji," Asui greeted as Shoji rolled over to face the two heroes-in-training.

"Hi…" He muttered, "What are you two doing here?"

"We came to check on you," Izuku answered, "How are you doing?"

Shoji went to sit up, but he was stopped by Asui and forced to lay back down.

"I'm doing okay," Shoji answered, "The doctor said that the whole falling thing was the result of a concussion and some bleeding in my brain. When Recovery Girl healed me, I guess my brain wasn't fully healed, and I collapsed."

"That's horrible!" Izuku replied, "Was it automatic or were there earlier signs?"

Shoji looked at the ground.

"To be honest, I had constant headaches after the training. There were times where I needed to stop and lean against something. I ignored it and thought I could handle it."

Izuku's eyebrows shot up while Asui gave Shoji a look of concern.

"Why didn't you say anything? *Ribbit*" Asui asked.

"I didn't want to be bigger of burden than I already was," Shoji explained, "I heard Midoryia was already panicked about me. If I said anything else, he would be a complete wreck."

"I was definitely worried about you," Izuku said, "But something as serious as internal bleeding shouldn't be kept a secret."

"You're not a burden," Asui said, "You're a gift."

"Thanks," Shoji muttered as his focus drifted to the paper in Asui's hand, "What's that?"

"My family wanted to give you this, *Ribbit*," Asui said as she handed Shoji a card, "I told them about what you did for me, and they made this themselves and wanted me to bring it to you."

Shoji took the card, which had a drawing of him that was obviously drawn by a child. His hands began to shake a little.

"Shoji?" Izuku asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Shoji replied as he opened the card.

The writing was a little hard to read, along with some misspelled words, but it wasn't anything Shoji couldn't handle.

_Dear Show-gee,_

_ Thank you for protecting our sister! You are a nice person and we think your quirk is cool!_

_ Sinseerly,_

_ Samidare and Satsuki_

Despite the message being small, every word was an arrow straight through Shoji's heart. Shoji tried to keep himself from breaking down in front of his classmates by taking large breaths, but the mask was blocking a lot of air. Asui noticed that Shoji's breathing seemed more forced, indicating that he might need more oxygen.

"Shoji," Asui said, "You're breathing looks kind of harsh, *Ribbit*. Maybe you should remove your mask."

"No!" Shoji protested, "I'm fine, really."

"I won't judge you for the way you look if that's why you're apprehensive," Asui said.

"Neither will I," Izuku added.

Shoji wouldn't budge. He fought against Asui and managed to sit up, but it took a lot of breath for him to do it. He began to somewhat hyperventilate, and Izuku rushed over to him.

"Take the mask off!" Izuku panicked, "You're not getting enough oxygen!"

"It's fine!" Shoji exclaimed as he cradled his head into his hands.

"You're feeling lightheaded," Asui said, "Aren't you?"

Shoji looked at her and but nodded. Izuku offered a cookie, hoping it would calm him down, but Shoji respectfully declined.

"Please, take it off, *Ribbit*," Asui persuaded, "You might feel better and less overwhelmed. Besides, you know that you can't really fight it."

Shoji closed his eyes in fear and in defeat. He wanted to take the mask off, but not in front of his classmates.

Asui cupped her hands around the mask before pulling it off. His mouth was closed in a crooked line, and his teeth were a little sharp. He almost looked like that of a raptor. She was not as surprised as Shoji expected, but she seemed interested. Izuku had been sketching images thinking about what Shoji might look like without the mask, but he was still surprised a little bit.

"You're not scared?" Shoji asked.

"Not at all, Shoji," Izuku said with a smile as Asui was observing Shoji's mask.

It was soft, but there was a tag on it, along with a small line of stitches.

_Property of Musutafu Hospital_

This wasn't a mask, at least it wasn't a mask originally.

"Shoji…*Ribbit*" Asui whispered, "Where did you get this mask?"

Shoji lowered his head towards the ground in a shameful manner. He closed his eyes as if he was afraid to speak.

"Um, I…" Shoji began as he lowered his hand from his head.

Izuku put a comforting hand on Shoji's shoulder.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Shoji replied.

However, the looks of concern from Asui and Izuku showed that he already opened the can of worms. He sighed and looked to face them.

"I always wanted a sibling. It was the thing I wished for every birthday and the only thing I wrote on a Christmas list," Shoji explained, "But I was unfortunately not lucky enough to have one. When I six, my mom announced that she was pregnant with my twin brothers. I was not only going to have one, but _two _siblings."

Asui handed Shoji his mask, who grasped onto it like a child's security toy.

"When my mother went to the hospital after two months of the announcement, she came home crying. She hugged my father, and her cries turned into screams. The twins were…um…miscarried."

Izuku gasped while Asui wiped a tear away from her eye. She understood the deep love Shoji felt for his unborn siblings. She felt the exact same bond with her brother and sister before they were even born.

"My mom became pregnant again two years later, with a little girl," Shoji continued, "The baby lasted longer than the twins, and I was lucky enough to feel a kick too."

Izuku started playing with the tassel on his hoodie, which was a common thing he did when was nervous. He felt like he knew what was going to happen to Shoji's sister.

"I was forced to wait outside with my uncle when my mom went into labor. I felt so hopeless, so scared, so weak. When the hour of waiting was over, I walked in to see my baby sister, at least that's what I thought."

Izuku's hands began to tremble.

"An eight-year-old boy, who has been begging for six years to have someone who would look up to him, to love him differently, was brought into the hospital room to only look at the corpse that could've held the greatest future of his life! I felt empty and alone. I hated knowing that I got to live while my siblings never even got to see the sun. I almost felt like a lone survivor in a war."

Tears began to stream down his face.

"This blanket was the very blanket she was going to be brought home in. The blanket I was going to hold her in. The blanket that I would've told her held the greatest gift I could ask for. At least I can feel their presence when I wear it as my mask."

Shoji broke down, and tears wouldn't stop flowing. Asui and Izuku wrapped their arms around Shoji as he let himself go. He worked up the strength to wrap his arms around them, and he felt safe. They cried together for what seemed like hours until Shoji's arms gave out.

"Is that why you were so determined to protect both of us during the training session?" Izuku asked.

"Yes," Shoji answered, "You guys are the closest thing I have to siblings. The closest thing I have to family right now. If any of you died or got hurt on my watch, I would never be able to handle it."

"You're doing a great job of doing that, Shoji!" Izuku said, "Also, I never got to say this, but thank you for helping me against Kacchan and at the Summer Camp. I feel like this was my fault, if-"

Shoji put his hand on Izuku's shoulder, which made Izuku jump a little.

"Don't blame yourself at all. It was my choice, and you probably would've gotten more damaged. I can take hits like this."

A small smile rose to his face, but he caught a glance at Asui, who had guilt written all over her face.

"You have no need to blame yourself either, Asui," Shoji said, "You can't control how your body reacts to the cold."

Asui wiped a few tears from her eyes before Shoji pulled her into another hug.

"This is the second time you've saved me from the cold! *Ribbit*" Asui said, "You throw yourself into situations that could _kill _you! You can't do that! None of us could stand the thought of losing you."

"You matter as much to us as we matter to you," Izuku added as he joined in on the hug, "We appreciate you, whether you can see it or not!"

"Thank you, both of you," Shoji whispered as he leaned himself into the pillows.

The three of them talked for what seemed like hours. They learned things about each other, and themselves. They talked about school and their friends, and many other conversations. Shoji wished that he was able to connect to all of his classmates the way he was now, but he shrugged it off, knowing that his dream was only going to fade away.

A nurse came in after a while. She seemed a little happy to see Shoji smile.

"I'm sorry that I'm interrupting," She said nervously, "But I'm afraid visiting hours are over."

Asui and Izuku gave Shoji one last wave before heading out. Shoji was a little sad to see them go, but he was glad that his friends came to show their support.

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Shoji was released from the hospital about four days before the Break ended. He was told that the herbs he was given were made to stop the internal bleeding. His vision swayed sometimes, which meant that Shoji was forced to have a small cane to make sure he didn't fall,

His parents were in tears when they picked him up. What made Shoji smile the most was the fact that the doctor said he could still be a hero.

He just had to stay strong.

Going back to school wasn't that dramatizing. The class dynamics were the exact same now and the time he left for break. The Dekusquad and Bakusquad were hanging out separately, Momo, Jiro, and Hagakure were chatting amongst themselves, and the rest of the class ran up to greet him like everything was perfectly fine. Maybe they didn't want to ask.

Shoji didn't really care about being ignored. He just continued to live like he always did. Mr. Aizawa looked at him with concern from time to time, but nothing else.

"Hey, Sero, Mina?" Shoji said as the two turned their heads towards Shoji.

"I wanted to thank you both for helping me at the bus stop," Shoji said through heavy breaths, "If you two weren't there, I would've been dead."

"It's no problem, Bro!" Sero answered, "We were just repaying the favor."

"What favor?" Shoji asked.

"During the USJ attack, you hopped on both of us to protect us from Mist-Guy," Mina explained, "I remembered that Sero and I never thanked you for that. You automatically protected us, and that's something I respect."

One of Shoji's arms shifted into a smile before he walked out the classroom door. He went to the stairs where his friends were waiting.

"You okay, Shoji?" Sato asked, "You want me to help you downstairs?"

"I'm okay, but thanks."

"Let's carry him!" Dark Shadow yelled.

"N-No! You guys don't-"

It was too late. Sato and Koda carried Shoji's top half while Ojiro, Tokoyami, and Dark Shadow carried the legs. Aoyoma and Mineta were given the honor of telling people to move and holding Shoji's cane.

"Excuse me! Hero coming through!" Mineta exclaimed, "Hey ladies!"

Shoji blushed at all the attention the were attracting, and his friends surprisingly didn't mind it either.

When they got to the dorms, the army lowered their comrade gently onto the patio.

"You guys didn't have to do that," Shoji said.

"It's what friends are for," Ojiro said as Koda nodded in agreement.

Aoyoma handed Shoji his cane as he hobbled up the outside stairs. Then he opened the doors.

**_"Surprise!"_**

Shoji gasped as he saw the rest of his classmates in front of him. A large banner hung over the wall that read 'Welcome home, Shoji!' and little gifts were placed on a table. Shoji's eyes were wide with shock.

"W-What's all this?"

"It's a party for you, Shoji!" Mineta exclaimed.

"Why?"

"We realized how much you sacrifice for us, Shoji," Izuku explained, "We decided that you deserve the greatest thanks we could give, so we set all of this up! You're amazing, Shoji!"

"You are strong in your mind and heart!" Iida added.

"You're also really nice to talk to!" Uraraka said with a beam on her face.

"You're a great teammate as well," Todoroki muttered.

"So manly!" Kirishima added.

"You're better than Deku, I guess," Bakugo grunted.

"You're so thoughtful!" Mina said.

"You're a real hero, dude!" Sero exclaimed.

"You're a big cuddly teddy-bear!" Hagakure exclaimed.

"You're pretty cool," Jiro said.

"Man, you literally are the perfect guardian!" Kaminari added.

"You're a true gentleman," Momo said.

"You're a great friend," Tokoyami said as Dark Shadow chirped.

"You are such a lifesaver!" Mineta exclaimed.

"You're persistent and hard-working," Ojiro said.

"You definitely are funny when you want to!" Sato said as he chuckled.

"You're a true star, Monsieur Shoji!" Aoyoma exclaimed.

"You always give everyone confidence when the world feels like it's crumbling apart," Koda said as Shoji gave him a thumbs up for speaking.

"I'm happy that you're part of my life, Shoji," Asui said, "It wouldn't be the same without you."

Shoji didn't know what to do or say, but he had no time to think about it when the whole class suddenly came in to give him a massive group hug, except Bakugo, who was dragged in by Kirishima.

"Thank you…" Shoji said, "All of you…"

"We got something else for you too!" Mineta exclaimed as he handed Shoji a card.

_To Mezo Shoji…_

Shoji opened the card and read it.

_To the person who throws himself in harm's way to protect his class. The first one to help anyone in need, no mater the cost. The support system we need when the world crashes down. The one who gives a surprise in everything he does, big or small. To the student who does his best and always leaves us in suspense._

_To our favorite brother, Mezo Shoji._

_You'll always be surrounded by family as long as you're with us. Keep your head up high. We love you._

The card was signed by every student in Class 1-A, even All-Might and the staff signed it. He also saw a small signature from Tetsutetsu, Kendo, and Pony. Shoji felt a single tear ran down his cheek. He buried his face in his hands in utter shock.

"T-Thank you," Shoji said, "Thank you all…"

The class then settled for an enjoyable dinner set up by Asui, Sato, and Bakugo. As they laughed at complete randomness and their wild stories, all Shoji could do was smile.

He was always happy when he was with his family.

**This is the end of this story. I hope you guys liked it! I hope all you Shoji fans are pleased with this, I felt like he deserved it! Anyways, please review, and have a paw-some day! Beast boy and the Indoraptor are Beast mode!**


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